Irene, Irene

The lead article in today’s New York Times, “New York Spared Brunt of Storm; Suburbs Hit Hard,” shows how unpredictable the vagaries of nature can be. The city, which had undergone a much publicized evacuation of “Zone A” low-lying areas, shuttered Broadway, closed the mass transit system and forced everyone indoors found the precautions unnecessary at best. Westchester County, too, was relatively untouched with the force of Irene largely hitting Connecticut, where about half the state was without power.

Yes, a lot of trees fell down, but the storm was downgraded from a hurricane by the time it hit NYC around 9 AM, packing 65 mph winds nevertheless. Yet no subway tunnels were flooded, and the windows did not break in any skyscrapers.

As most of us dust ourselves off from the excitement, we can still feel thankful, though, for the precious gift of life, which fell beyond our control as we awaited a force of nature to strike. Perhaps, the experience can serve as an analogy for other times as well, when we must learn to put our faith in the Lord instead of our puny human efforts. If that occurs, then Irene will have served a useful purpose as we return to the routines of our everyday lives.